Why Javier Vazquez is worth it, And why you should draft him.

One gentleman wrote to ask why Vazquez so early? (That is 9th round)…Well, here’s why…

Javier Vazquez was an attempt to get an innings eater as there are concerns about guys like Hamels after a long season.

In the past 9 years Vasquez has pitched more than 200 innings 8 times. The 9th? Well, then he pitched 198 innings.

He’s also a strike out machine – 6 of those 9 years he had more than 190ks.

Last year he was massively unlucky with a FIP 0.9 pts lower than his ERA. Contributing to that he has a ridiculous .328 BABIP against him – the highest since 2000.

He’s a HR-prone pitcher, that’s always been his problem. But what happened last year? He kept more HR (per fly ball) in the park. That too is a good sign.

And now when he does put the ball in the air (which should happen slightly more as his LD% levels out and bumps up his FB%) he’s got a much better defense patrolling the outfield.

Last year the Braves were only marginally better than the White Sox defensively. But the 2009 OF of G.Anderson, J.Anderson and J. Francoeur is a significant upgrade to both last year’s team (which played defensive black holes like Matt Diaz in left) and that of the ChiSox.